Lunchtime Crime episodes:

• April 25, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | Hooting and Hollering?

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  "So, lunch buddies, whether you view this as evidence of extraterrestrial visitation or a cautionary tale about the power of suggestion, the story does endure as one of the strangest and most debated events in American history. And possibly no crime involved, no arrests made, but a mystery nonetheless."

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• April 25, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | When Hunger Created Criminals

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  "Desperate tenant farmers, led by H.C. coney and joined by farmers in several small towns, were armed and they demanded food for their starving families. After being denied aid by the local Red Cross. And merchants, fearing violence or out of compassion or both, opened their stores and distributed food to avert any bloodshed. The incident made national headlines, highlighting the acute distress and inadequacy of relief efforts. Urban centers were also sites of riots."

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• April 23, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | Really Bad Bank Robbers

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  "So investigators were pretty sure that they were the same criminals. For all of these bank robberies. They just didn't seem to be very good bank robbers, although they, you know, they were working at it. In May 1938, the FBI and local law enforcement tracked Early Wine and Hewlett to a farm near Penfield, Illinois. They moved in. Hewlett was apprehended in a field without a lot of fuss."

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• April 23, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | Heir of Mystery

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  "It's time for lunch. You have the right to remain silent, but I won't remain silent. Welcome back to Lunchtime Crime. Let's go shopping and visit the true crime section of Marshall Fields. We'll have to do a little bit of time travel. Marshall Fields was a huge success as an innovator in American department stores. It dates back to the 1880s. Its earliest incarnation, the flagship store, was on State street in Chicago's Loop. I think that became a Macy's eventually."

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• April 19, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | The Green Black Market

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  "So let me share a little hand picked true crime bouquet here. In recent years, California has been the epicenter of a booming black market for native succulents, particularly Dudleys. That's a species that grows along the coast and they're beautiful and resilient and popular in Asia. The scale of the problem became clear in 2018 when California's Department of Fish and Wildlife acted on some tips and uncovered a large scale poaching operation. In one case in Humboldt county, officers seized more than 2,000 succulents from three suspects."

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• April 19, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | Popcorn and Moonshine

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  "He boasted that he ran more whiskey than Jack Daniel, and he was never secretive about what he was doing. He even detailed his methods in a book, me and My Liquor, and appeared in some documentaries, including a cult classic, the Last Damn Run of Liquor I'll Ever Make. So not low profile. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, he had multiple run ins with the law, and his first arrest came in 74 for selling untaxed liquor, followed by convictions for drug offenses and assault."

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• April 19, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | The Price Wasn’t Right

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  "It's called Affinity fraud. By 2001, price had become a director of Montgomery bank and Trust in in Ailey, Georgia, and he was well liked and trusted by clients and colleagues. He managed two investment funds and attracted approximately $51 million from about 115 investors. Many of these clients were retirees who had spent decades saving for their futures and placing their faith and their life savings into Price's hands. Behind the scenes, he was orchestrating a classic Ponzi scheme."

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• April 19, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | Any Distinguishing Characteristics?

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  "But you underestimate me or you underestimate how truly weird our country is. Fast forward to July 2023. A surveillance camera in Quincy, Illinois captured a person in full bunny suit breaking into the winner's Wash laundromat. The bunny suspect rummaged through the cash machine and left with an undisclosed amount of money. The footage quickly went viral, but the bunny suited burglar is still at large. Perhaps the most infamous modern bunny criminal is Antoine MacDonald."

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• April 14, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | The Killer Style Icon

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  "Mueller had modified his victim's tall top hat. Remember, he swapped out his own for his victims. He cut down its crown and sewed it neatly onto the brim. And this style statement caused a sensation during his trial at the Old Bailey. It became known as the Mueller cut down. And it became a Victorian fashion trend, despite its grim origins, or maybe because of them. Mueller's trial lasted three days, and the evidence was circumstantial, but it was compelling."

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• April 14, 2025@LunchtimeCrime | Queen of Crime

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  "So Lunch Buddy's Ellery Queen reinvented true crime inspiration as entertainment and many others have followed in their gumshoes. Come back to lunchtime crime when you're hungry for more stories set where crime meets creativity."

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